The United States of America has the worst form of health-care financing of any developed nation. USA citizens pay, on average, twice per capita as citizens of any other developed nation. The USA is the only developed nation that does not have some form of government-financed health care for all citizens. The USA ranks quite low in many important health-care outcome categories. See a pattern here?

The USA has a financing system based on a “free-market” economic concept, but our need for medical care is not well suited for a “free-market” system. That concept is predicated on the parties involved in the contract/agreement having equal choice/power in the arrangements. At the point of need, we have little choice/power in our need for care. The power/choice is in the hands of the provider, in this case the insurance, pharmaceutical, medical equipment/supply, and some for-profit hospital/clinic industries.

I would strongly encourage the enactment of H.R. 676, establishing a national, government-financed health-care plan that would take the profit out of health care. This would eliminate the burden on businesses of providing their employees health-care benefits and remove the dependence of employment in order to have health-care benefits. Yes, we would all pay a little more in taxes, but we would pay less than we now pay for our health-care insurance premiums. This would reduce costs to businesses as well as to employees.

For more information on H.R. 676 see www.pnhp.org, www.healthcare-NOW.org , www.mforallorg., or www.madashelldoctors.com Become informed, get involved. Let us provide for one another this very basic and important human need. Let us create health-care freedom, justice and equality.